Generations of the greatest jazz in concert in Wellfleet

Friday

Mar 15, 2013 at 12:01 AMMar 15, 2013 at 3:18 PM

When he was 13 years old, Kareem Sanjaghi played his first gig with his grandfather Bob Hayes and legendary Cape trumpeter Lou Colombo. It was an auspicious start to Sanjaghi's career, and to the musical partnership of the grandfather-grandson duo.

Susan Blood

When he was 13 years old, Kareem Sanjaghi played his first gig with his grandfather Bob Hayes and legendary Cape trumpeter Lou Colombo. It was an auspicious start to Sanjaghi's career, and to the musical partnership of the grandfather-grandson duo.

It's been 11 years, and the two continue to play together regularly — including a rare Lower Cape appearance coming up this Friday at Wellfleet Preservation Hall. In addition to Hayes and Sanjaghi, the Bob Hayes Band features vocalist Cerise, with Tom Glenn on guitar and Laird Boles on bass.

Hayes has played professionally for 63 years, performing with artists including Bob Hope, Larry Elgart, Robert Goulet, The Chordettes and Bobby Hackett. He splits his time between Cape Cod and Florida, but most of his time in Florida is spent touring.

“I've only been to my house in Florida five weeks in seven years,” he says. Aside from his retirement as a Chatham school teacher, there's no sign of stopping. He will be 86 in June.

Meanwhile, Sanjaghi has become a musician in his own right, receiving accolades from colleagues and others, including singer Tony Orlando who called him “one of the best talents I have ever heard.”

Orlando first heard Sanjaghi when he was playing with Hayes and Lou Colombo. “He called me over to his table and said, 'I think this is unbelievable, a young person playing with older musicians,’” Sanjaghi recalls. “I said, ‘It gets even better. The piano player is my grandfather.’”

It was Sanjaghi who suggested the Wellfleet venue to the band after playing there with jazz guitarist Bert Jackson and finding the audiences warm and appreciative.

Sanjaghi thrives on the multi-generational aspect of their band. “Anytime a grandchild can play with a grandparent it’s neat,” he says. “And performing at a high level of music — which I think is what we do — is an especially wonderful experience. We’re playing great music. We’re not just getting around to playing every now and then. Lou Colombo told me once that my grandfather and I were two of his favorite musicians. I think it’s pretty cool to have an experience like that with a musician like Lou. And to share that with my grandfather is pretty special.”

The two specialize in songs from the American Songbook, focusing on the melodies of the great composers, like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and the Gershwins.

“We do jazz, we do society music, we do Latin,” Sanjaghi says. “We have fun with it, and we like to think the audience has fun too.” Cerise, he notes, is an especially “high-energy entertainer” who sings in English and Spanish.

It’s fitting that the material the band performs are standards, passed from generation to generation. “There’s nothing better to pass on than music,” Sanjaghi says. “It's a wonderful gift for us to share.”